mad about al

Making a list of the most colorful baseball players of all time? Don’t you dare forget Al Hrabosky! Sure, there have been a number of “better” closers in the history of baseball, but if I had been in charge of fielding a professional baseball team to entertain a stadium filled with fans, I would have made sure I had the Mad Hungarian stewing out in the bullpen ready to charge the mound.

The outlandish colors of Hrabosky’s 1975 Topps card (no. 122) are perfectly suited to help celebrate the portion of Al’s career when he was on the top of his game. Besides, I absolutely love the 1975 Topps set.

After considering a number of Hrabosky’s baseball cards to send for autographing to help document his induction into the Aardvark Attic of Appreciation, I settled on this 2001 Topps Archives card (no. 380) that depicts Al near the end of his career on the field.

The storybook continued as Al became one of the most well liked color commentators among St. Louis Cardinals fans, a post he has held for the quarter of a century.

Although I’ve heard that Hrabosky will sometimes sign three items sent “TTM,” I would caution that even long distance graphers not push the envelope by sending more than two. I, for one, would not want to make this particular fireballer angry! Furthermore, next time I’m in St. Louis, I plan on stopping into Al Hrabosky’s bar for a beer.